Tupolev Tu-154

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Tu-154

Slovak Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M

Role Narrow-body jet airliner

National origin Soviet Union/Russia

Manufacturer Tupolev

DesignerTupolev Design Bureau

First flight 4 October 1968

Introduction February 7, 1972; 40 years ago (Aeroflot)

Status Out of production, In service

Primary users UTair

Yakutia Airlines

Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise

Tajik Air

Produced 1968–2011[1]

Number built 1025

Unit cost $45 million[citation needed]

Variants Tupolev Tu-155

The Tupolev Tu-154 (Russian: Ту-154; NATO reporting name: Careless) is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passenger kilometers in 1990). Having been exported and operated by 17 non-Russian airlines and a number of air forces, it remained the standard domestic route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid 2000s.

With a cruising speed of 975 kilometres per hour (606 mph), the Tu-154 is one of the fastest civilian aircraft in operation and has a range of 5,280 kilometres (3,280 mi). Capable of operating from unpaved and gravel airfields, it was widely used in extreme Arctic conditions of Russia's northern and eastern regions where other airliners were unable to operate and where service facilities were very basic. With a service life of 45,000 hours (18,000 cycles) but capable of 80,000 hours with upgrades, it is expected to continue operations until

2016, although noise regulations have seen services to western Europe and other areas restricted. In January 2010, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot announced the retirement of its Tu-154 fleet after 40 years of service with the last scheduled flight being Aeroflot Flight 736 from Ekaterinburg to Moscow on 31 December 2009.[2]

Since 1968 there have been 39 fatal incidents involving the Tu-154, most of which were caused either by factors unrelated to the aircraft or by its extensive use in demanding conditions.[3][4]

Contents [hide]

1 Development

2 Design

3 Variants

4 Operators

4.1 Civil operators

4.2 Former civil operators

4.3 Military operators

4.3.1 Current

4.3.2 Former

5 Incidents and accidents

6 Specifications

7 In popular culture

8 See also

9 References

10 Bibliography

11 External links

[edit]Development

The Tu-154 was developed to meet Aeroflot's requirement to replace the jet-powered Tu-104, the Antonov An-10 'Ukraine' and the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprops. The requirements called for either a payload capacity of 16–18 tonnes (35,000–40,000 lb) with a range of 2,850–4,000 kilometres (1,770–2,500 mi) while cruising at a speed of 900 km/h (560 mph), or a payload of 5.8 tonnes (13,000 lb) with a range of 5,800–7,000 kilometres (3,600–4,300 mi) while cruising at 850 km/h (530 mph). A take-off distance of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) at maximum take-off weight was also stipulated as a requirement. Conceptually similar to the British Hawker Siddeley Trident, which first flew in 1962, and the Boeing 727, which first flew in 1963, the medium-range Tu-154 would be marketed by Tupolev at the same time as Ilyushin was marketing the long-range Ilyushin Il-62. The Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Industry chose the Tu-154 as it incorporated the latest in Soviet aircraft design and best met Aeroflot's anticipated requirements for the 1970s and 1980s.[5]

The first project chief was Sergey Yeger but in 1964, Dmitryi S. Markov assumed that position. In 1975 he turned it over to Aleksandr S. Shengardt.[6]

The Tu-154 first flew on 4 October 1968. The first deliveries to Aeroflot were in 1970 with freight (mail) services beginning in May 1971 and passenger services in February 1972. There was still limited production of the 154M model as of January 2009, despite previous announcements of the end of production in 2006.[7] 1025 Tu-154s have been built, 214 of which are still in service as of 14 December 2009.[8]

[edit]Design

Tu-154M of Cubana

The Tu-154 is powered by three rear-mounted low-bypass turbofan engines arranged similarly to those of the Boeing 727, but it is slightly larger than its American counterpart. Both the 727 and the Tu-154 use an S-duct for the middle (number 2) engine. The original model was equipped with Kuznetsov NK-8-2 engines, which were replaced with Soloviev D-30KU-154 in the Tu-154M. All Tu-154 aircraft models have a relatively high thrust to weight ratio which gave excellent performance, although at the expense of poorer fuel efficiency, which became an important factor in later decades as fuel costs grew.

The flight deck is fitted with conventional dual yoke control columns.

The cabin of the Tu-154, although of the same six-abreast seating layout, gives the impression of an oval interior, with a lower ceiling than is common on Boeing and Airbus airliners. The passenger cabin accommodates 128 passengers in a two-class layout and 164 passengers in single-class layout, and up to 180 passengers in high-density layout. The layout can be modified to what is called a winter version where some seats are taken out and a wardrobe is installed for passenger coats. The passenger doors are also smaller than on its Boeing and Airbus counterparts. Furthermore, luggage space in the overhead compartments is very limited.

Like the Tupolev Tu-134, the Tu-154 has a wing swept back at 35° at the quarter-chord line. The British Hawker Siddeley Trident has the same sweepback angle, while the Boeing 727 has a slightly smaller sweepback angle of 32°. The wing also has anhedral (downward sweep) which is a distinguishing feature of Russian low-wing airliners designed during this era. Most Western low-wing airliners such as the contemporary Boeing 727 have Dihedral (upward sweep). The anhedral means that Russian airliners have poor lateral stability compared to their Western counterparts, but also have weaker dutch roll tendencies, eliminating the need for a yaw damper.

Tu-154M on departure at Domodedovo airport

Like many other Soviet-built airliners, the Tu-154 has an oversized landing gear enabling it to land on unpaved runways, once common in rural areas of the Soviet Union. The aircraft has two six-wheel main bogies fitted with large low-pressure tires that retract into pods extending from the trailing edges of the wings (a common

Tupolev feature), plus a two-wheel nose gear unit. Soft oleo struts (shock absorbers) provide a much smoother ride on bumpy airfields than most airliners, which only very rarely operate on such poor surfaces.

The original requirement was to have a three-person flight crew – captain, first officer and flight engineer – as opposed to 4/5-person crew on other Soviet airliners. A fourth crew member, a navigator, is usually also present in the former Soviet Union, due to union rules. Navigators are no longer trained and this profession will become obsolete with the retirement of older Soviet-era planes.

The plane's avionics suite, for the first time in the Soviet Union, is built to American airworthiness standards[citation needed]. The latest variant (Tu-154M-100, introduced 1998) includes an NVU-B3 Doppler navigation system, a triple autopilot, which provides an automatic ILS approach according to ICAO category II weather minima, an autothrottle, a Doppler drift and speed measure system (DISS), "Kurs-MP" radio navigation suite and others[citation needed]. Modern upgrades normally include a TCAS, GPS and other modern systems, mostly American or EU-made.

Early versions of the Tu-154 cannot be modified to meet the current Stage III noise regulations and are banned from flying where those regulations are in force, such as Europe. The Tu-154M may use hush kits to meet Stage III and theoretically Stage IV. However, current European Union regulations forbid the use of hush kits to meet Stage IV[citation needed]. The Tu-154M would need to be re-engined to meet Stage IV within the EU, an extensive and potentially expensive upgrade[citation needed].

[edit]Variants

Yakutia Airlines Tu-154M

LOT Polish Airlines Tu-154M

Air Koryo Tu-154B-2

Tu-155

Many variants of this airliner have been built. Like its western counterpart, the 727, many of the Tu-154s in service have been hush-kitted, and some converted to freighters.

Tu-154

Tu-154 production started in 1970, while first passenger flight was performed at 9 February 1972. Powered by Kuznetsov NK-8-2 turbofans, it carried 164 passengers. About 42 were built.

Tu-154A

The first upgraded version of the original Tu-154, the A model, in production since 1974, added center-section fuel tanks and more emergency exits, while engines were upgraded to higher-thrust Kuznetsov NK-8-2U. Other upgrades include automatic flaps/slats and stabilizer controls and modified avionics. Max. take-off weight – 94,000 kg (207,235 lb). There were 15 different interior layouts for the different domestic and international customers of the airplane, seating between 144 and 152 passengers. The easiest way to tell the A model from the base model is by looking at the spike at the junction of the fin and tail; this is a fat bullet on the A model rather than a slender spike on the base model.[9]

Tu-154B

As the original Tu-154 and Tu-154A suffered wing cracks after only a few years in service, a version with a new, stronger wing, designated Tu-154B, went into production in 1975. It also had an extra fuel tank in fuselage, extra emergency exits in the tail, and the maximum take-off weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,053 lb). Also important to Aeroflot was that the increased passenger capacity led to lower operating costs. As long as the airplane had the NK-8-2U engines the only way to improve the economics of the airplane was to spread costs across more seats.[10] The autopilot was certified for ICAO Category II automatic approaches. Most previously built Tu-154 and Tu-154A were also modified into this variant, with the replacement of the wing. Max. take-off weight increased to 96,000 kg (211,644 lb). 111 were built.

Tu-154B-1

Aeroflot wanted this version for increased revenue on domestic routes. It carried 160 passengers. This version also had some minor modifications to fuel system, avionics, air conditioning, landing gear. 64 were built from 1977 to 1978.

Tu-154B-2

A minor modernization of Tu-154B-1. The airplane was designed to be converted from the 160 passenger version to a 180 passenger version by removing the galley.[11] The procedure took about two and a half hours. Some of the earlier Tu-154B modified to that standard. Max. take-off weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,053 lb), later to 100,000 kg (220,462 lb). 311 aircraft were built, including VIP versions, a few of them are still in use.

Tu-154S

The Tu-154S is an all-cargo or freighter version of the Tu-154B, using a strengthened floor, and adding a forward cargo door on the port side of the fuselage. The airplane could carry 9 Soviet PAV-3 pallets. Max. payload – 20,000 kg (44,092 lb). There were plans for 20 aircraft, but only nine aircraft were converted; two from Tu-154 model and seven from Tu-154B model. Trials were held in the early 1980's and the aircraft was authorized regular operations in 1984. By 1997 all had been retired.[12]

Tu-154M

The Tu-154M and Tu-154M Lux are the most highly upgraded version, which first flew in 1982 and entered mass production in 1984. It uses more fuel-efficient Soloviev D-30KU-154 turbofans. Together with significant aerodynamic refinement, this led to much lower fuel consumption and therefore longer range, as well as lower operating costs. The aircraft has new double-slotted (instead of triple-slotted) flaps, with an extra 36-degree position (in addition to existing 15, 28 and 45-degree positions on older versions), which allows reduction of

noise on approach. It also has a relocated auxiliary power unit and numerous other improvements. Maximum takeoff weight increased first to 100,000 kg (220,462 lb), then to 102,000 kg (224,872 lb). Some aircraft are certified to 104,000 kg (229,281 lb). About 320 were manufactured. Mass production ended in 2006, though limited manufacturing continued as of January 2009.(photo link) No new airframes have been built since the early 1990s, and production since then involved assembling airplanes from components on hand.[13] Chinese Tu-154MD electronic intelligence aircraft carries a large-size synthetic aperture radar (SAR) under its mainframe.[14]

Tu-154M-LK-1

Cosmonaut Trainer. This was a Salon VIP aircraft modified to train cosmonauts to fly the Buran reusable spacecraft, the Soviet equivalent of the US Space Shuttle. The Tu-154 was used because the Buran required a steep descent, and the Tu-154 was capable of replicating that. The cabin featured trainee work-stations, one of which was the same as the Buran's flightdeck. The forward baggage compartment was converted into a camera bay, because the aircraft was also used to train cosmonauts in observation and photographic techniques.[15]

Tu-154M-ON Monitoring Aircraft

Germany modified one of the Tu-154s it had on hand from the former East German Air Force into an observation airplane. This airplane was involved with the Open Skies inspection flights. It was converted at the Elbe Aircraft Plant (Elbe Flugzeugwerke) in Dresden, and flew in 1996. After two dozen monitoring missions, it was lost in a mid-air collision in 1997.[16]

The Russians also converted a Tu-154M to serve as an Open Skies Monitoring aircraft. They used the Tu-154M-LK-1, and converted it to a Tu-154M-ON. When the aircraft is not flying over North America, it is used to ferry cosmonauts around. The Chinese are also believed to have converted one Tu-154 to an electronic countermeasures aircraft.[17]

Tu-154M-100

Design of this variant started in 1994, but the first aircraft were not delivered until 1998. It is an upgraded version with Western avionics, including the Flight Management Computer, GPS, EGPWS, TCAS, and other modern systems. The airplane could carry up to 157 passengers. The cabin featured an automatic oxygen system and larger overhead bins. Only three were produced, as payment of debts owed by Russia to Slovakia. Three aircraft were delivered in 1998 to Slovak Airlines, and sold back to Russia in 2003.[18]

[edit]Operators

[edit]Civil operators

Rossiya Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M at Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia.

Aeroflot Tu-154M

Aero Rent Tu-154B-2

Belavia Tupolev Tu-154M

Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154M

As of 26 March 2012 104 Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft (all variants) remained in airline service.[19][20] As of 20 February 2011 in Iran, all the remaining numbers of this aircraft were grounded after two recent incidents.[21][22] Major operators include:

Airline In Service

Aero Rent 2

Air Koryo 4

Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise 6

Aria Air 3 out of service

Aviaenergo 3

Azerbaijan Airlines 1

Belavia 3

Donavia3

Gazpromavia 3

Iran Air Tours 14 out of service

Orenair 5

Kogalymavia 4

Kyrgyzstan Airlines 1

Rossiya 5

Tajik Air6

Tatarstan Airlines 5

Turan Air 5

UTair Aviation 19

Vladivostok Air 3

Yakutia Airlines 6

Yamal Airlines 6

[edit]Former civil operators

Past and present operators:

Abakan Air Enterprise, Aerokuznetsk, Aeroservice Kazakhstan, Aerotrans, Aerovolga, Air Georgia, Air Great Wall, Air Savari, AJT, Amur Avia, Asian Star, Aviaprad, Aviaprima, AVL Arkhangel, Baltic Express, Barnaul Air, Bratsk Air, Chelal, Chernomoravia, China Glory, China Xinjiang, Chita Avia, Diamond Sakha, East Line, Elk Estonian, Georgia Air Prague, Gomel UAD, Imair, Iron Dragonfly, Khabarovsk Aero, Latpass, Macedonia Airservice, Murmansk Air, Nizhny Novgorod Air, Orbi Georgian, Sakha Avia, Surgut Avia, Tomsk Air, Transeuropean, Turanair, Tyumen Airlines, Ulyanovsk Airlines, Vitair.

Afghanistan

Ariana Afghan Airlines

Albania

Albanian Airlines

Armenia

Armenian Airlines

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Airlines

Turan Air

Bulgaria

Air Via

BH Air

Bulgarian Air Charter

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines

Government of Bulgaria

Hemus Air

BH Air

People's Republic of China

Civil Aviation Administration of China

China Northwest Airlines

China Southwest Airlines

China United Airlines

Sichuan Airlines

Cuba

Cubana

Czechoslovakia

Government of Czech Republic

Czechoslovakia

CSA Czech Airlines

Government of Czechoslovakia

Egypt

Egyptair

Georgia

Transair Georgia

Hungary

Malev Hungarian Airlines

Pannon Airlines

Iran

Bon Air

Caspian Airlines

Iran Air Tours (14 in storage; unknown if they will be airworthy again.)

Kish Air

Mahan Air

Kazakhstan

Atyrau Airways

Kazakhstan Airlines

Sayakhat Airlines

Libya

Libyan Arab Airlines

Macedonia

Avioimpex

Moldova

Aerocom

Air Moldova

Mongolia

MIAT Mongolian Airlines

Nicaragua

Aeronica

Pakistan

Pakistan International Airlines

Shaheen Air

Poland

LOT Polish Airlines

Romania

Government of Romania

TAROM

Russia

Abakan-Avia

Aeroflot

Air Volga

Airlines 400

ALAK (airline)

Avial (airline)

Baikal Airlines

BAL Bashkirian Airlines

Bural

Continental Airways

Enkor

KrasAir

KD Avia

Kuban Airlines

Mavial Magadan Airlines

Nordavia

Omskavia

Orenair

Perm Airlines

Polet Airlines

Jet-2000

Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise

Rossiya (airline)

Russian Sky Airlines

S7 Airlines

Samara Airlines

Sibaviatrans

Transaero

Tyva Airlines

Ural Airlines

Somalia

Air Somalia

Syria

Syrianair

Turkey

Active Air

Greenair

Holiday Airlines

Djibouti

Daallo Airlines

Yemen

Alyemda

Ukraine

Air Ukraine

Odessa Airlines

[edit]Military operators

This section does not cite any references or sources. (December 2008)

[edit]Current

Kyrgyzstan Government Tupolev Tu-154M

This Polish military VIP transport Tu-154M Lux aircraft from the 36th Special Air Transport Regiment, at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport before it was retired. The other one crashed in heavy fog at Smolensk North Airport on April 10, 2010, killing all occupants, including the Polish President.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Government

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan Government

North Korea

Korean People's Air Force (4 Tu-154B-2 leased from Air Koryo)

People's Republic of China

People's Liberation Army Air Force

Russia

Russian Air Force

Slovakia

Slovak Government Flying Service

[edit]Former

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Air Force One 154B retired 1988; one 154M retired April 2010, replaced by A319 CFM[23][24]

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakian Air Force (passed on to successor states)

Czech Republic

Czech Air Force (replaced by Airbus A319CJ)

Cuba

Cuban Air Force - retired

East Germany

East German Air Force (passed on to FRG)

Germany

Luftwaffe (taken over from East Germany; 1 lost in mid-air collision, the other one sold)

Poland

Polish Air Force – 1 Tu-154M was retired in 2011, 1 Tu-154M crashed in 2010.

Mongolia

Mongolian Air Force - retired

Turkmenistan

Military of Turkmenistan – 2 Tu-154B-2 retired

Ukraine

Ukrainian Air Force - retired

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force (passed on to successor states)

Uzbekistan

Military of Uzbekistan - retired, replaced by Boeing 767

[edit]Incidents and accidents

As of January 2011, since 1970 there have been 110 serious incidents involving the Tu-154,[25] and 69 hull losses, 30 of which did not involve fatalities.[26] Of the fatal incidents, six resulted from terrorist or military action (two other war-time losses were non fatal) including an accidental missile shoot-down by Ukraine, several from poor runway conditions in winter (including one in which the airplane struck snow plows on the runway), cargo overloading in the lapse of post-Soviet federal safety standards, and mid-air collisions due to

faulty air traffic control. Other incidents resulted from mechanical problems (two cases prior to 2001), running out of fuel on unscheduled routes, pilot errors (including lack of flight training for new crews), and cargo fires. The Tu-154 is described as having an average (or better than expected) safety record considering its length of service and heavy use in demanding conditions where other airliners are unable to operate.[4] On January 2, 2011, Russia's Federal Transport Oversight Agency advised airlines to stop using remaining examples of the Tu-154 (B variant) until the fatal fire incident in Surgut had been investigated.[27] Its operation in Iran, which is subject to an aircraft parts embargo, ceased in February 2011 due to a number of incidents involving the type (almost 9% of all Tu-154 losses have occurred in Iran) [28] In 2010 there were two fatal losses of the Tu-154 due to pilot error and/or weather conditions (a Polish presidential jet attempting to land at an airfield in heavy fog and a Russian-registered plane that suffered engine stall after a crew member inactivated a fuel transfer pump). Following these accidents, in March 2011 the Russian Federal Bureau of Aviation recommended a withdrawal of remaining Tu-154M from service.[29] In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways also declared that it will cease to operate Tu-154s from 2011.[30]

date

(dd.mm.yyyy) Tail number Location Fatalities Brief description

19.02.1973 CCCP-85023 Prague 66/100 Landed 470 m short of the runway

03.1973 n.d. near Kiev 0/n.d. Crashed

07.05.1973 CCCP-85030 Vnukovo 0/6 Crashed during training flight

10.07.1974 SU-AXB Cairo 6/6 Crashed during training flight

30.09.1975 HA-LCI Beirut 60/60 Crashed in the sea on final approach in clear weather, allegedly shot down by one or two air to air missiles fired by either IDF or SDF forces.

01.06.1976 CCCP-85102 Malabo 46/46 Crashed into a mountain on final approach

1976 CCCP-85020 Kiev 0/n.d. Rough landing, written off. Now in museum

02.12.1977 LZ-BTN Benghazi 59/165 Unable to land in dense fog the plane ran out of fuel searching another airfield and crash-landed

23.03.1978 LZ-BTB near Damascus 4/4 Crashed on final approach

19.05.1978 CCCP-85169 Tver oblast 4/134 Fuel supply turned off due to flight engineer error, crash-landed in field

18.02.1978 CCCP-85087 Novosibirsk 0/n.d. Fire onboard

01.03.1980 CCCP-85103 Orenburg 0/161 Rough landing

07.07.1980 CCCP-85355 Alma-Ata 164/164 Crashed at take-off

07.08.1980 YR-TPH Mauritania 1/168 Ditched 300 m short of runway

08.10.1980 CCCP-85321 Chita 0/n.d. Rough landing

13.06.1981 CCCP-85029 Bratsk 0/n.d. Overran on landing, fuselage broke into two

16.11.1981 CCCP-85480 Norilsk 99/167 Rough landing 470 m short of runway due to crew errors

21.10.1981 HA-LCF Prague 0/81 Rough landing due to crew error

11.10.1984 CCCP-85243 Omsk 4+174/179 Collided with maintenance vehicles on landing due to controller error

23.12.1984 CCCP-85338 Krasnoyarsk 110/111 Engine fire and hydraulics fault. One occupant reportedly survived the crash according Aviation Safety Network.

10.07.1985 CCCP-85311 Uchkuduk 200/200 Overloaded plane stalled and crashed due to crew errors

1986 7O-ACN Aden n.d. Overran on landing, never repaired

21.05.1986 CCCP-85327 Domodedovo 0/175 Deformation of fuselage due to crew errors during flight

18.01.1988 CCCP-85254 Krasnovodsk 11/143 Rough landing, plane broke into two

08.03.1988 CCCP-85413 Vetschyovo 9/n.d. Blown up by hijackers (Ovechkin family)

24.09.1988 CCCP-85479 Aleppo 0/168 Broke into two on landing, was caught by wind shear

24.09.1988 CCCP-85617 Norilsk 0/n.d. Rough landing, turned into training mock-up

13.01.1989 CCCP-85067 Monrovia 0/n.d. Aborted take-off and runway overrun due to overloading

09.02.1989 YR-TPJ Bucharest 5/5 Crashed at take-off due to engine failure

20.10.1990 CCCP-85268 Kutaisi 0/171 Nosegear collapsed due to overloading

17.11.1990 CCCP-85664 Velichovky, Czech Republic 0/6 Fire on board, the plane burned out after emergency landing

23.05.1991 CCCP-85097 Leningrad 2+13/178 Rough landing, nosegear collapsed and plane broke into two

14.09.1991 CU-T1227 Mexico City 0/112 Overran on landing

05.06.1992 LZ-BTD Varna 0/130 Overran on landing in heavy rain

18.06.1992 RA-85282 Bratsk 1+0/0 Burned out during refueling

18.06.1992 RA-85234 Bratsk 0/0 Burned out in the same incident

20.07.1992 4L-85222 Tbilisi 4+24/24 Crashed at take-off due to overloading

01.08.1992 YA-TAP Kabul 0/0 Destroyed in the airport by mortar fire

05.09.1992 UR-85269 Kiev 0/147 Rough landing with left gear still retracted

13.10.1992 RA-85528 Vladivostok 0/67 The plane was unable to take-off due to overloading

05.12.1992 EK-85105 Erevan 0/154 Overran on landing

19.01.1993 UK-85533 Delhi 0/165 Rough landing due to crew error

08.02.1993 EP-ITD near Tehran 2+131/131 Mid-air collision with Su-22

22.09.1993 4L-85163 Sukhumi 108/132 Shot down by missile

23.09.1993 4L-85359 Sukhumi 0/0 Damaged by shelling, never repaired

25.12.1993 RA-85296 Grozny 0/172 Rough landing, nosegear collapsed. Destroyed by air strike in 1994

03.01.1994 RA-85656 Irkutsk 1+125/125 Engine fire at take-off, hydraulics failed

06.06.1994 B-2610 Xian 160/160 Disintegrated in mid-air due to errors in auto-pilot settings

21.01.1995 UP-85455 Karachi 0/117 The plane was unable to take-off due to overloading

07.12.1995 RA-85164 near Khabarovsk 98/98 Asymmetrical fuel supply from wing tanks, the captain mistakenly increased the right heel and the plane crashed

29.08.1996 RA-85621 Longyearbyen 141/141 Crashed in the mountain on final approach due to crew error

13.09.1997 11+02 Namibia 24/24 Mid-air collision with USAF C-141

15.12.1997 EY-85281 Sharja 85/86 Landed short of runway, crew error

29.08.1998 CU-T1264 Quito 10+70/91 Aborted take-off, overran and caught fire

24.02.1999 B-2622 Ruian 61/61 Crashed on final approach due to technical failure

04.07.2000 HA-LCR Saloniki 0/76 Accidental gear-up touchdown during the landing at Thessaloniki, skidded on runway, but able to take off and land normally after a go-around.

03.07.2001 RA-85845 Irkutsk 145/145 Stalled and crashed on final approach due to crew errors

04.10.2001 RA-85693 Black sea 78/78 Allegedly shot down by stray Ukrainian missile

12.02.2002 EP-MBS Khorremabad 119/119 Crashed on final approach

20.02.2002 EP-LBX Mashhad 0/n.d. Rough landing, sent to Vnukovo for repair where a nosegear collapsed

01.07.2002 RA-85816 Germany 2+69/69 Mid-air collision with Boeing 757 of DHL Aviation due to controller error

24.08.2004 RA-85556 Millerovo 46/46 Exploded in mid-air by suicide bomber

22.08.2006 RA-85185 near Donetsk 170/170 Stalled and crashed due to attempt to fly over storm front at critical altitude

01.09.2006 EP-MCF Mashhad 29/147 The tyre blew out on landing, the plane skidded off the runway and caught fire

30.06.2008 RA-85667 St Petersburg 0/112 Engine fire at take-off, take off was aborted and the plane written off

15.07.2009 EP-CPG near Qazvin 168/168 Engine fire and explosion, the plane lost control and crashed

24.01.2010 RA-85787 Mashhad 0/170 Rough landing, the plane broke up and caught fire

10.04.2010 101 Smolensk 96/96 Crashed on final approach in thick fog on an airfield with no ILS. President Lech Kaczyński and other high-ranking officials were on board and died in the crash.

07.09.2010 RA-85684 Izhma 0/81 Emergency landing at remote airfield after general electrical failure at 34,800 ft, overran the small runway and sustained minor damage with no injuries. In March 2011 it was flown back to Samara for structural inspection.[31]

04.12.2010 RA-85744 Moscow 2/170 An emergency landing after two engines failed shortly after take-off; full of fuel. Overran the runway and broke up into three. The accident investigation revealed that a crew member had mistakenly switched off a fuel transfer pump thereby causing fuel-starvation and subsequent engine stall [32]

01.01.2011 RA-85588 Surgut 3/124 Fire onboard and subsequent explosion while taxiing for take-off, all three engines running.[33]

[edit]Specifications

Measurement Tu-154B-2 Tu-154M

Cockpit crew Three/Four

Seating capacity 114–180

Length 48.0 metres (157 ft 6 in)

Wingspan 37.55 metres (123 ft 2 in)

Wing area 201.5 square metres (2,169 sq ft)

Height 11.4 metres (37 ft 5 in)

Maximum take-off weight 98,000 kilograms (220,000 lb) – 100,000 kilograms (220,000 lb) 102,000 kilograms (220,000 lb) – 104,000 kilograms (230,000 lb)

Empty weight 50,700 kilograms (112,000 lb) 55,300 kilograms (122,000 lb)

Maximum speed 950 km/h (510 kn)

Range fully loaded 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) 5,280 kilometres (3,280 mi)

Range with max fuel 3,900 kilometres (2,400 mi) 6,600 kilometres (4,100 mi)

Service ceiling 12,100 metres (39,700 ft)

Engine (x 3) Kuznetsov NK-8-2U Soloviev D-30KU-154

Max. thrust (x 3) 90 kN (20,000 lbf) each[34] 103 kN (23,148 lbf) each[34]

[edit]In popular culture

Tu-154's interior and exterior as the most common airliner appeared in many Soviet and Russian films.

Air Crew is the 1979 action film revolving around the exploits of a Soviet Tu-154 crew on an international flight, the first Soviet film in the disaster genre.

[edit]See also

Russia portal

Soviet Union portal

Aviation portal

Related development

S-duct

Tupolev Tu-155

Tupolev Tu-204

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Boeing 727

Hawker Siddeley Trident

McDonnell Douglas DC-9

Related lists

List of airliners

[edit]References

^ TU-154 Airliner Facts

^ "Aeroflot retires the legendary TU-154s". Flight Global. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 17 December 2010.

^ "Crash focuses attention on Tupolev-154". BBC News. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.

^ a b Tu-154: The backbone of Russian fleets BBC News

^ Komissarov, p. 8.

^ Komissarov, pp. 5, 18

^ Aviakor ends Tupolev Tu-154M production after fulfilling last order

^ Tu-154 Production Numbers

^ Komissarov, p. 21

^ OKB Tupolev, A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft, Yefin Gordon and Vladimir Rigmant, translated by Alexander Boyd, edited by Dmitriy Komissarov (Hinckley, UK, 2005) ISBN 1-85780-214-4 p. 257.

^ Komissarov, p. 27

^ Komissarov, pp. 29–31

^ Komissarov, p. 34

^ "AirForceWorld.com Tu154md Electronic Intelligence Aircraft". AirForceWorld.com. Retrieved 30 April 2011.

^ Komissarov, pp. 36–37

^ Komissarov, pp. 38–39

^ Komissarov, p. 40

^ Komissarov, pp. 36, 144–145

^ Photo search results

^ AeroTransport Data Bank

^ Iranian airlines fleet

^ Kramer, Andrew E. (21 June 2011). "It Danced Once, but More Often It Crashes". New York Times.

^ Photo Search Results

^ Photo Search Results

^ All incidents involving Tu-154 at Aviation Safety Database

^ Incidents with hull-loss involving Tu-154 at Aviation Safety Database

^ "Russian airlines should ground Tu-154s, watchdog says". BBC News. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.

^ " مي شود زمين گير آسمان ها در مرگ ارابه هاي اسفند اول از url=http://www.mellatonline.ir/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8020:1389-11-27-05-38-42&catid=56:news&Itemid=68".[dead link]

^ rp.pl: Agencja zaleca wycofanie Tu-154M

^ "Uzbekistan Airways renews aircraft fleet url=http://www.uzairways.com/news.aspx?ctl=News&dId=1985&pid=0&cls=1".

^ Alrosa Tu-154 overruns after emergency landing in Russia , FlightGlobal, 2010-09-07

^ BBC News – Two dead as engine failure airliner lands in Moscow. Bbc.co.uk (2010-12-04). Retrieved on 2010-12-10.

^ Russian Passenger Jet Explodes; 3 Dead. Cbsnews.com (2011-01-01).

^ a b Originally measured as 10,500 kgf.

[edit]Bibliography

Dmitriy Komissarov, Tupolev Tu-154, The USSR's Medium-Range Jet Airliner, (Hinckley, UK, 2007) ISBN 11857802411

Yefin Gordon and Vladimir Rigmant, OKB Tupolev, A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft, translated by Alexander Boyd, edited by Dmitriy Komissarov (Hinckley, UK, 2005) ISBN 1-85780-214-4

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tupolev Tu-154

Image of Tu-154 flight-deck

Images of Tu-154

Chinese surveillance/ELINT version of TU-154M

Photos[dead link]

BBC: Tu-154: The backbone of Russian fleets

Gallery of Polish VIP variant of Tu-154M used by 36. Special Transport Aviation Regiment in Plastikowe.pl magazine

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Categories: Soviet airliners 1960–1969Soviet military transport aircraft 1960–1969Tupolev aircraftTrijets1972 introductions

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